


Ifs, Ands, and Butts

by whitchry9



Category: Daredevil (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Blind Character, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Identity Porn, Identity Reveal, Secret Identity, booty math
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-17
Updated: 2017-05-26
Packaged: 2018-11-01 17:49:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10926930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whitchry9/pseuds/whitchry9
Summary: Wherein Steve recognizes Matt Murdock as Daredevil on the basis of The Booty.He just doesn't know how to bring up the topic.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written for this prompt: http://daredevilkink.dreamwidth.org/8423.html?thread=16324327#cmt16324327

Steve liked to keep an eye on all the new vigilantes that emerged around Manhattan. He thought of it as part of his duty. He kept people safe, and sometimes that included keeping them safe from themselves or from vigilantes who took things too far. So far he hadn't had to do much. There was a young woman who started shooting rapists in the kneecaps with arrows, but Clint took her under his wing. He thought she had potential, and Steve didn't disagree. There was also a weird human spider in Queens that Tony was keeping his eye on, and Steve checked in every week or so just to make sure he hadn't forgotten.

The most recent one had come out of Hell's Kitchen. At first there were just reports of a man in black, or men in black, since there didn't seem to be any unifying descriptions. But Jarvis gathered the few video clips he was able to access, however he did it (Steve learned not to ask), and it was indeed the same person. There'd been a bit of confusion a while back as to whether he was linked to bombings, but that was cleared up. The guy had been framed, which made sense.

But now he'd returned in a new costume with a new name. Daredevil.

Steve didn't really like that the guy was taking the devil thing pretty seriously, with the red outfit, tendency to crouch on rooftops, the horns, and now the name. What kind of name was Daredevil?

Steve rewound the video slightly, zooming in to get a better view of Daredevil taking down a drug dealer. It was something pretty minor, not something the Avengers would even concern themselves with, but it needed to be done, and Steve was glad there was someone to do it.

Even if he had a ridiculous name.

“Don't really get to choose your name though, do you Jarvis?” Steve asked, taking a sip of his coffee.

“I suppose not,” Jarvis agreed.

“Let's keep an eye on him, but I'd think for now, we could leave him be. Any more footage of his fighting style pops up, let me know, but for now, I'm okay with him continuing.”

“I will be sure to inform you if any more footage emerges. Also, I'd like to remind you that you have Stark Foundation for Accessibility Banquet next week.”

“Right,” Steve said, scratching his chin. “I probably need a new suit. Or a suit, period. Last time I wore a suit, Tony nearly cried. Can you put that on my to do list?”

“I'm sure as soon as Sir discovers you need a new suit, he'll take it upon himself to ensure you receive one of the highest quality. Should I fail to notify him?”

Steve considered it. “Nah, I'll probably survive the experience.”

 

* * *

 

Steve did survive the experience, but just barely.

He did have to admit, while putting the suit on and getting ready for the gala, that it did look fantastic. Tony was good at spending ridiculous amounts of money.

Steve nearly passed out at the price tag, but Tony waved off his complaints with a promise to donate the same amount of money to the foundation.

Steve appreciated that.

Tony popped his head in the room. “Ready to go?” He whistled. “Damn, looking good.”

Steve blushed. “You think?”

“The right suit can make all the difference. Of course, your figure honestly could look good in anything, but...” he shrugged.

Steve rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I'm ready.”

Tony of course looked dazzling in a suit that probably cost twice as much as Steve's did, and Steve's needed alterations to fit properly. Still, when the man had enough money that he could buy a suit, donate to charity, and afford to house the Avengers, Steve couldn't argue, even if he was still startled by inflation every time he went shopping.

They made a compromise between showing up on time (Steve's idea) and showing up fashionably late (Tony's idea), which still resulted in them showing up when the gala was in full swing.

The sea of cameras started flashing before they were even out of the car, and Tony plastered on a dazzling smile. Steve just hoped he managed to not look angry as they made their way through the crowd.

“Do they not have anything better to do?” Steve asked him through gritted teeth, still smiling. “You can damn well bet that none of them care at all about the foundation.”

“Yeah, but it's a Stark gala, which means they are out in full force. Plus, I like to send them bills for ridiculous things, like property usage, and force them to pay it to the charity.”

Steve looked at him with admiration. “You know, I'm glad you're on our side.”

Tony flashed him a real smile, not the fake one he had plastered on for the cameras.

They finally entered the hall, and Tony immediately began mingling, shaking hands and chatting with people who he seemed to know. On the drive over, Tony ensured that Steve wouldn't embarrass him, and Steve assured him that this was the singular gala that he actually enjoyed going to, unlike any of the others that he had to go to for Avengers duties or because Tony whined.

All too often, people forgot that he was a sickly, multiply-disabled child, and then young adult, before being injected with the serum that turned him into Captain America. He sure as hell didn't.

And while the future was a hell of a lot nicer for people with various disabilities, it still wasn't always great. But that he could do something about.

Steve made the rounds, helping himself to some wine and assorted snacks. He met a few people, had some awful conversations, and some nice ones too. The highlight was probably a discussion about how the transfer between youth and adult services was failing a lot of young people. Steve only realized afterwards that the man he'd been speaking to was on the city council.

Well, they had an HR department for a reason. He wasn't going to back down on any of his beliefs because people might disagree. The same thing happened a month or so back when he went on a tirade about vaccinations. Apparently the internet was in a tizzy over that.

Steve surveyed the room. He liked how many of the people were actually invested in the causes that the Foundation supported, whether directly or indirectly. Many of the people he'd spoken to were also disabled, as well as committed to providing support for others.

He'd even had a brief conversation in ASL, having learned the basics from Clint. He always picked up things like that quickly. It must be because it was so visual. He seemed to have a near photographic memory even before everything happened, which was only enhanced by the serum.

Tony seemed to be in the middle of a lively conversation, gesturing with both hands while he spoke.

For all his fame, Steve didn't actually recognize many of the people in the room. There was Tony, of course, and a few others that he'd met the previous year or during smaller events, and the people he'd only met that evening. There was maybe two dozen that he could name.

He tired of looking for familiar faces and instead focused on looking at clothing.

The men didn't dress very differently, which was by virtue of not having many variation on the suit and tie combination, but the women had a wider variety of dresses, skirts, pants, and assorted other articles of clothing that Steve didn't have names for.

He'd just spotted a dress that he knew Natasha would love, so many places to hide weapons, when he saw a man who he knew. Not his face, because Steve had never seen it before, but everything else, the curve of his spine, the way he walked, how he held himself, even his jaw- Steve knew that.

That body belonged to Daredevil. Steve had watched hours of video, had Jarvis zoom in so he could examine fighting styles and patterns. He knew, perhaps too intimately, what Daredevil looked like, and this man matched perfectly.

Steve just had to figure out how a blind man could be Daredevil, and then he'd be set, but as it was, he only had more questions than answers.

_ Maybe a twin? _ he mused. Of course, Steve supposed the man could be faking his blindness, or wasn't completely blind, since that would be the perfect cover, but he didn't want to jump to any conclusions. He needed more information.

Steve found Tony, blessedly free of any clingers on, and sidled up to him.

“Hey, do you know who that is?” he asked, attempting to point non-discretely. “The man with the dark glasses over there.”

Tony squinted at the person Steve was referring to. “Oh, yeah actually. I met him and his partner earlier. Can't remember his first name, but I know they run a law firm together in Hell's Kitchen, Nelson and Murdock. I think he's Murdock. Why, you know him from somewhere?”

“I might,” Steve said, but didn't expand.

Tony shrugged and was swept away shortly after by another small crowd of people.

Steve found a quiet spot in the corner and began doing some googling. After initially spelling the name incorrectly, not Murdoch like the Canadian show about the detective, he found their website and a handful of newspaper articles about them. Apparently they'd only set up shop a little while ago, and yet had managed one of the biggest cases to come out of Hell's Kitchen in recent years. Coincidentally, it was also a case that Daredevil had been involved in- Wilson Fisk. After a little more digging, Steve found an article about Matthew. He'd apparently been blinded in an accident at the age of nine, and was something of a local hero.

Steve just had to figure out how a blind lawyer could be Daredevil, since he was fairly certain he was. He had an eye for things like that.

“Excuse me, sorry to bother you, but we just wanted to say hi.”

Steve looked up to find a man with blond hair that ended just above his shoulders, and the man he'd just been googling standing in front of him. He shoved his phone in his pocket and hoped the one who could see didn't notice it.

He held his hand out. “Sure thing. Steve Rogers.”

“Foggy Nelson,” the blond one said, shaking his hand. Steve was fairly certain that was not the name on the website. “And this is Matt Murdock.”

Murdock didn't offer his hand to shake, or perhaps didn't know Steve was holding his out. His head was tilted, like he was examining Steve through his dark glasses. Now that he was closer, Steve could tell they were dark red, and not just black like he'd thought.

The guy sure had a thing for red.

“I heard about you. Lawyers, right?” Steve asked.

Nelson laughed nervously. “Yep that's us. I can't believe Captain America knows who we are. Matt, we've hit the big time,” he said, poking his friend in the side.

“Well, maybe not quite,” his friend said easily.

And that was Daredevil's voice. Daredevil usually pitched his lower, and with a more gravelly tone, kind of like Batman in the movies they'd watched, but there was no mistaking it.

“Are you enjoying yourselves tonight?” Steve asked.

“Oh yeah. We don't often get invited to events as nice as this one.”

“Not really helping us get clients, Foggy,” Murdock whispered.

Nelson shrugged. “Dude, it's Captain America. You know I get nervous.”

“Oh yeah. Earlier, when we met Tony Stark,” Murdock told him, “this guy nearly spilled a glass of wine on him.”

“You caught it.”

Murdock's expression changed briefly, into something Steve couldn't recognize, before shifting back to a blank expression. “Lucky break, for all those involved.”

Nelson went back to the question that Steve had asked, since it seemed Murdock wasn't going to speak. “I'm having a great time. We connected with some people who are going to refer clients to us. We kind of specialize in disability law. Actually, so far we specialize in whatever we get law, but ideally we'd like to specialize. We're kind of already known for taking clients pro-bono, which isn't actually a good business plan, but Matt here can't say no to them. And we've gotten a grant from the Foundation, which has been a huge help. It lets us take on clients who otherwise can't afford representation but also means we can keep the lights on.”

“Because some people need lights,” Murdock deadpanned.

“Shush. What do you think your laptop runs on? A little arc reactor? Nope. Electricity. Stop being so uppity.”

Nelson pulled a business card from his jacket pocket and handed it to Steve. “In case you ever need a lawyer, or know someone who does.”

Steve examined it. “I'll be sure to pass it on if I do. Thank you,” he told them. Murdock's head was still tilted to one side and he nodded slightly.

“It was nice to meet you,” Murdock said, pulling at his partner's arm slightly.

“Yes, thank you,” Nelson said, getting the hint.

“Have a good rest of your night,” Steve told them, watching them disappear back into the crowd. Murdock pulled Nelson closer to him and hissed something at him. Excitement over meeting him? Anger about something? He didn't know.

He saw them a few more times that night, but Nelson and Murdock managed to avoid running into Steve again, whether it was by design or purely accidental.

The rest of the gala was uneventful, although he and Tony stayed until the bitter last. It was in the small hours of the morning that they finally found themselves on their way back to the Tower, after Tony had met with some of the organizers of the events and thanked them for all their hard work. Tony seemed to genuinely care about their thoughts and opinions about how the event went, and listened to some of their suggestions for next year.

His energy seemed to flag in the car, and he slouched down in his seat, ruining the lines of the suit. Tony always did spread himself too thin.

He made sure Tony was on his way to bed before heading up to his own floor, where he changed into sweatpants and a t-shirt. He was tired, but not tired enough that he was ready for sleep. He had more important things on his mind.

“Jarvis, can we start a new file? Store it on a confidential server, no one else but me gets access.”

“Of course. What would you like me to pull up?”

“Everything on Matthew Murdock. Let's cross reference with everything we've got on Daredevil.”

Jarvis found even more than Steve did during his brief google search. Of course, he also probably had access to other places that Steve didn't.

“Let's start with comparing their bodies. Do you have footage of both? Great, let's create a wire frame of each and overlay it. Can I get that in a hologram form?”

“This room is not equipped with a hologram projector. If you proceed to your art studio, I can present those to you.”

Damn, Steve didn't even know that Tony had put that in. He just thought it was a traditional art studio, not like one of Tony's labs.

Well, it was serving him well now.

He resettled there and Jarvis resumed their work.

Steve manipulated the two forms that Jarvis produced for him and overlaid them. There were slight irregularities that were probably due to clothing.

“Can I get a probability?”

“99.43 percent likelihood that they are the same person.” Jarvis paused. “Might I ask how you recognized this?”

“I guess I've just got a really good memory. Always have. It helps with the art for sure, but apparently it can help with other things too. Can I get the data sheet up again? Thanks.”

Steve read through the rest of the information Jarvis had regarding Murdock, including some old reports from an orphanage. He'd learned during his earlier search that Murdock's father died when he was young, but he assumed there was a mother involved. Apparently not.

According to the reports, Murdock had a lot of trouble adjusting to living in the orphanage, and was prone to outbursts. Eventually some sort of mentor was brought in. There weren't any reports for a while after that, until one of them mentioned the mentor left. Murdock seemed better after that, but if it was related to whatever the man had taught him, Steve couldn't say.

He felt like he was invading the man's privacy. It felt wrong.

He skipped ahead, looking at the more public records, like the man's education. Columbia for law, a prestigious internship with a job offer that he turned down to open his own firm. For all he could tell, Matthew Murdock had a successful life as a lawyer, albeit with his own challenges.

So why would he do something like become a vigilante?

He went to bed, still mulling over the information as he fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Steve woke in the morning with renewed purpose. He went for a quick jog, somehow ending up in Hell's Kitchen.

Okay, he knew how he ended up there. He went there on purpose.

 

He found the office of Nelson and Murdock easily enough, a small but fancy sign on the outside of the building.

 

He wasn't sure what he expected to find. Certainly not anyone working, not on a Saturday morning at 8am, but he went up anyway.

There was a shadow moving behind the glass. Someone was there.

So he knocked.

 

It was quiet for a second, and he wondered if they were going to pretend they weren't there, but the shadow moved closer to the door and opened it.

A blonde woman peered out.

“Sorry, we're not open today,” she said. “The office will be open on Monday at 9, if you need to talk to someone about a legal matter.”

“Oh, I'm sorry,” Steve said. He wondered if she recognized him. “I met Mr Murdock and Mr Nelson at a Stark Banquet last night, and after hearing more about the firm, I was wondering if you had a contact for Daredevil. It seems the firm has worked with him more than once, and I was hoping you could pass on a message, or let me know how to talk to him.”

The woman frowned, suspicious evident on her face. “You're Captain America. Why are you here?”

Steve shrugged. “I'm not in the uniform. Today I'm just Steve. And I was hoping I could talk to Daredevil about working with him some time.”

She opened the door the rest of the way. “Why don't you come in. Coffee?” she asked, heading to a small kitchenette to the left. Straight ahead there was a desk, and there were offices on both sides, and a conference room to his right. It was sparsely furnished, but clean and bright, and the one office had a great view.

“Uh, sure, thank you. Sorry, I didn't get your name.”

“Karen,” she called over her shoulder, turning a coffee machine on. “I'm the secretary, of sorts. I was their first client, and they just couldn't get rid of me,” she said cheerily. “Honestly, I'm not sure they'd get anything done without me.”

Steve laughed. “I have a friend who wouldn't get anything done without his assistant. She ended up running everything.”

“You're talking about Tony Stark right?”

“Yeah, I am. That obvious?”

Karen shrugged. “Ms Potts is an inspiration to a lot of people. Running a company as huge as SI is a big deal.”

“She's great,” Steve agreed.

 

Karen pulled out sugar and cream and set them on the counter. The coffee finished and she pulled out two mugs, filling them with coffee.

“I'll let you make it to your own liking. The guys I work with, well, just Matt really, he's really specific about his coffee, so I don't really make it for him anymore.”

Steve poured in a health amount of sugar and just enough cream to make the coffee look that creamy shade he loved. During the war he took it black and toxic enough to kill a lesser man, but now that he had options, he loved sweet drinks and ones with interesting flavours. Starbucks, although overwhelming, was amazing.

When he was finished, Karen added to hers before putting the cream back into the small fridge.

“We can go sit in the conference room,” she said, pointing to the small room with a table and chairs.

“That would be great,” Steve agreed, and followed her.

 

He'd barely gotten seated when she started speaking.

“So. What do you want with Daredevil?”

She was direct, he had to give that to her.

“I told you, I'd like to get in contact with him about maybe working with him sometime. See if he needs anything, that sort of thing.”

Karen narrowed her eyes at him. “You sure that's it?”

Steve frowned. “Yeah, it is. Why?”

She shrugged, sipping at her coffee. “Dunno. Daredevil... he's kind of small time, you know? He doesn't leave the Kitchen. And you, you're global. I know you're based in New York, but you can and will go anywhere that needs you. Do you really think that Daredevil is willing to do that?”

“Sounds like you know him.”

She shrugged. “You know how it is, a guy saves you once, and you feel like you kind of owe it to him to keep up with the news.”

“So you've met him?” Steve asked, raising an eyebrow. If Karen knew Matthew Murdock and worked with him, and had met Daredevil, maybe she suspected something.

She nodded. “He saved me from some sort of assassin who didn't want what I knew to get out. Of course, it was dark, and raining, so I didn't really get a good look at him, except for basics. This was back when he was just doing the man in a mask thing,” she added. “No horns yet.”

“The horns do seem like overkill,” Steve smiled, taking a sip of his coffee.

“I know, right?” she exclaimed. “Like, what's he going to do, headbutt someone into submission?”

“He just might,” Steve replied.

She sighed. “Yeah, you're right.”

“So, do you have any contact information for him?” Steve asked.

She shook her head. “We don't contact him, he contacts us. And even if we do somehow end up getting in touch with him, it's usually through Matt or Foggy. Matt more often, maybe because he can't look at the guy's face. He does always seem to know when we'll need him though. It's like some weird radar sense.”

Steve managed to keep a straight face. “Super hearing?” he suggested, rather than letting her know that the way Daredevil always managed to know he was needed by Nelson and Murdock was because he was part of the firm.

Karen considered it. “Maybe,” she concluded.

Steve never knew how close he was to the truth.

 

He finished coffee with Karen and found out she'd only recently moved to New York. She liked it so far, despite the number of times she'd nearly died. It was a surprising amount for someone who wasn't a superhero. She promised to let Daredevil know that he was looking to get in contact with him, and would share it with Murdock and Nelson in case they spoke to him either. Somehow, Steve had a feeling that Daredevil would know.

 

He jogged on home, not really knowing anything else, but having made a friend and sorted a few things out.

 

 

* * *

 

 

He went out jogging the next morning, even earlier this time, since he'd woken up from a dream with a vague sense of panic despite not being able to remember what happened. He knew better than to try and go back to sleep, so he put on jogging clothes and slipped out into the city. New York certainly was the city that never slept, but it did get quieter, and Steve liked that.

This time he didn't actually mean to head for Hell's Kitchen, he just sort of ended up there. Manhattan wasn't that big, after all. Not with the way he ran.

 

“I heard you've been looking for me.”

Steve spun around. “Jesus!”

Daredevil smirked. “Not quite.”

He was impressed. “Not many people can sneak up on me.”

“I know,” he replied. “I only managed to do it because you were distracted.”

That was true. His shoelace was coming undone and Steve had wondered for the last block if Tony had developed self tying shoe laces, while at the same time pondering if he wanted to stop and fix it or wait for it to come undone entirely.

He bent down to fix it while he remembered.

“Did Miss Page get in contact with you?”

An expression flashed across Daredevil's face briefly before disappearing. “No. Murdock did.”

Steve nodded. “Met him and his partner a few days ago. Nice guys. I think they do a lot of good for this neighbourhood. Like you.”

Daredevil shook his head. “No, I'm not like them. They're better.”

Steve shrugged. “Say what you want, but I know that some problems can't be solved with words, no matter how fancy they may be.”

Daredevil smirked, or maybe grimaced, it was hard to tell with just the bottom half of his face. And that was interesting. Here was the guy, pretending to talk about himself in the third person to distance his identity from that of the vigilante's.

Steve's glad he never had to do that, because he's certain he'd be horrible at it.

He wondered if Murdock actually thought that being Daredevil was something he only did begrudgingly, that he wished he could stop, or that he wasn't needed. But Steve knew he was needed.

“What do they think of you?” Steve asked.

Daredevil shrugged. “Nelson has grown... fonder of me. He seems to recognize that what I do is necessary, even if he doesn't like it.”

“And Murdock?”

Daredevil chose his words carefully. “I think he knows better than most that the law can't fix everything.”

Steve nodded.

“So. Why were you looking to get in contact with me? That's what you told her, right?”

So Karen probably hadn't spoken with Matt, and he'd just set out to find Steve because of what had happened at the gala. Otherwise, he would know what he'd told her.

He shrugged. “Just wanted to let you know if you ever needed anything, you could call us. I know it can be hard to work on your own, and if you ever got in over your head, or needed resources you couldn't get on your own, we'd be happy to help out. No strings attached, no need for you to be an Avenger or reveal your identity. Just... give us a call if you need us.”

Daredevil tossed something to Steve, and he caught it out of reflex. Daredevil smirked.

“Burner phone. Put your number in there.”

Steve scrolled through the contacts, only noting two. F and C. He put his number under Cap, and after a second, also added a number for the Tower under Avengers.

He didn't mean to memorize the other numbers, it just sort of... happened.

Steve tossed the phone back up to Daredevil, who slipped it into some sort of hidden pocket somewhere in his costume.

He nodded at Steve. “Thanks.”

Steve nodded back. “No problem. And seriously, don't hesitate to call us. I know that you might think you can handle everything on your own, but you don't have to, okay?”

Daredevil hesitated before nodding, and backflipping off the roof into the shadows.

Steve snorted. “Showoff,” he muttered under his breath, hoping that Daredevil could still hear him.

There was a faint huff that suggested he did.

 

When he got back from his jog, he wrote down the numbers, on paper so Tony couldn't find them, and hid them. He didn't want to infringe on the man's privacy, but if something ever went wrong, it would be nice to be able to call the two people Daredevil thought were important enough to program into his burner phone.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Daredevil showed up on the news a few times, reports and sightings and one memorable time where he took down a drug dealer the police were growing desperate to catch. Nelson and Murdock were also on the news once, defending a man who'd robbed a corner store while high on the same drug the dealer had been peddling. Steve was sure they were unrelated, of course.

 

He seemed to be holding his own, and the Avengers handled a few relatively small time villains, the farthest away being in Japan, which was almost a nice vacation if it hadn't been for the giant bug-bots.

 

Things went on, and Steve never really expected to hear from Daredevil until it happened.

 


	3. Chapter 3

For the first time in a long time, he was alone in the Tower. Tony was in Malibu for business, Bruce was at a conference in Switzerland, or maybe Sweden, Steve didn't remember which, Clint and Natasha were on a mission, and Thor was...

Well, no one ever really knew where Thor was.

But Steve was home alone, debating which movie to watch, when the phone rang. Not his phone, but the Tower phone.

“Captain Rogers, the call has been forwarded to your phone, if you could pick it up,” Jarvis instructed.

Steve didn't know that was a thing Jarvis could do. He should have known though.

 

“Hello, Avengers Tower.”

“You're not Claire,” a voice said.

Daredevil.

“No, it's Steve. Captain America. Remember we met? I put my number in your phone.”

“I was calling Claire,” Daredevil said. He sounded confused.

“Are you okay?”

“She's supposed to be the first number in my phone.”

“Daredevil, where are you? Are you hurt?”

“I...” he said, and trailed off like he was thinking about his answer, but didn't continue.

“Jarvis, track it,” he ordered, already throwing a jacket on and running down the hall. The elevator was waiting for him and carried him quickly to the basement where the vehicles were. He briefly debated taking his motorcycle before realizing there was no way he'd be able to carry Daredevil on it. He chose one of Tony's less flashy cars and started heading to Hell's Kitchen. “Jarvis?” he asked.

His phone replied. “I've sent the coordinates to the GPS in the car.” The screen lit up. “He appears to be in an abandoned building that is undergoing construction.”

Steve picked the phone up from where he'd tossed it on the seat. “Daredevil, I'm coming to get you. Talk to me.”

There was only silence on the other end except for the faint sound of someone breathing.

Well, at least he was still alive.

“Jarvis, I need you to dial a number for me.”

If Daredevil had tried calling the first number in his phone, the one that had been input as C, it would have been moved to second place when he added Avengers. But he'd seen the number once and had remembered it, and if Daredevil wanted Claire, he'd try and call her for him.

He told Jarvis the number and waited as the phone rang. He eyed the GPS. He was making good time and would probably get there soon.

The number rang out and sent him to voicemail. He hung up.

“You should arrive within three minutes,” Jarvis told him. Steve switched back to the call with Daredevil, where the man was still breathing. Thank goodness for small mercies.

“Daredevil, I'm coming to get you. I tried calling Claire but she didn't answer.”

It was probably lucky that Steve's number had been the one called. Daredevil didn't sound like he was in good enough shape to realize that she wasn't answering and move down to the next number on his speed dial. He probably only had enough consciousness in him for one call. Who knows what could have happened if he called Claire and it rang out.

He pushed the thought aside as he pulled up to the building indicated in the GPS.

“Jarvis?” he asked.

“Life signs on the second or third floor.”

“You're the best.”

 

He found Daredevil on the second floor, propped up against a wall, the phone still in his outstretched hand. Steve couldn't tell if his eyes were open behind the mask, but he was still breathing, and that was good enough for now. He heaved him up over one shoulder. Daredevil groaned slightly, but didn't wake up, and Steve whispered a silent apology before heading down the stairs and into the night.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Steve got him back to the Tower without anyone seeing them, and Daredevil was still breathing, although not really conscious. Steve hoped that had more to do with pain than any potential head injury, because he really didn't know how to deal with those other than calling for real medics and doctors.

 

He got him settled on a bed in the medbay, stuck a pulse ox on his finger, and had Jarvis scan him while he searched for some sort of zipper to get the suit open so he could stick wires to his chest and make sure his heart was still doing what it was supposed to be doing.

He didn't find one, but he did find a dislocated shoulder. “Jarvis?” he asked.

Jarvis walked him through the steps to pop the joint back into place, and Steve whispered a short apology to Daredevil before doing it.

That woke him right up, and he sat up in the bed, dazed and probably confused and in pain.

Steve took a step back and held his hands up in a placating gesture.

“Whoa, you're okay. It's okay. You're in Avengers Tower. Just lay back. You've got a few broken ribs, your shoulder was dislocated, you've probably got a concussion, and there's a laceration on your head that probably needs some stitches, but I haven't checked because the bleeding has mostly stopped, and I knew you wouldn't want anyone to see your face. You're safe.”

Daredevil barely seemed to hear him, still panicking and trying to get up.

Steve placed a hand on the man's chest, trying to settle him back down or stop him from getting up and hurting himself, but that only seemed to panic him more.

“Daredevil,” Steve said. “Daredevil.”

He didn't even seem to register.

“Matt!” Steve said instead.

Matt froze.

“Please stop fighting me. You're hurt, but you're safe. Just relax, sit back down, and let me make sure you're okay.”

“You know my name.”

He lifted his hands up to his face, wincing as he moved his recently dislocated shoulder.

“Your mask is still on,” Steve told him. “I didn't take it off. Your identity is safe.”

“Then how?”

“I've known since the benefit.”

He can see Matt working it over. “That was months ago. We hadn't even met before then. How could you have possibly known?”

“Before I was Captain America, I was an artist. You think I didn't recognize your body from the footage? That's kind of my job.”

“You didn't say anything.”

Steve shrugged. “I didn't think it was important. You didn't need to tell me. It wasn't my right to know your identity. And...” he hesitated. “I did question if I was right, for a while. I had a hard time figuring out how a blind lawyer could be a vigilante, but it was more of me doubting my own abilities to recognize that it was you than me doubting your capabilities.”

Matt mulled that over for a moment, getting his bearings.

“So. What do you think? Can I get a look at the laceration on your head? It will probably be hidden by your hair, but I think it could use a stitch or two, mostly because it's in such a prominent area.”

Steve could see him thinking it over, before he just pulled the mask off his head. His hair was ridiculous, standing up at every angle, and the blood had dried in a path down his temple. He didn't look at Steve so much as he just looked towards him, and he looked a lot younger than Steve had thought he would. He looked vulnerable.

 

Steve pulled on a pair of gloves and warned Matt before prodding at the laceration. “Actually, this looks more superficial than I'd expected. I think you could get away with some butterflies to hold it shut. Could probably use a cleaning first though, since I have no idea where that mask has been.”

Matt snorted. “Believe me, you don't want to know.”

“You up to date on your tetanus?” Steve called, digging through the shelves of supplies for some saline and the butterfly bandages.

“You are not the first person to ask me that, and yes I am.”

“Great. It probably won't get infected, but you know know what to look out for, right?”

Matt nodded.

“Good,” Steve said, sitting back down. “We can hook you up with antibiotics if it comes to that, but Bruce has this thing about not overusing antibiotics, which I get now that I've found out about the superbugs we've got.”

He wet a piece of gauze with the sterile saline and warned Matt before touching him again. “This is probably going to sting,” he apologized, but Matt barely winced.

“How are you feeling otherwise?” Steve asked, cleaning out the laceration.

“A little dizzy, a bit confused, so you're probably right about that concussion. Ribs aren't so bad, but the shoulder is going to hurt for a while.”

“Yeah, probably. You should probably avoid using it for at least a week. I don't know how long it takes you to heal, but I assume you don't have any sort of healing powers.”

“Nope,” Matt replied. “If only. You know how handy that would be?”

“Yeah, actually,” Steve said, grinning.

“Show off,” he muttered, and Steve laughed, pressing the butterfly strips down to hold the wound closed. The edges were neat and it should heal without scarring, which he told Matt.

“You're probably good to go now, if you've got somewhere to be, but if you don't, you're welcome to hang out. We're the only ones here now, but if you'd like to stay, they should be home soon, and you can meet some of the others, with or without your mask on, whatever you prefer.”

“You haven't told anyone?” he asked quietly.

Steve shook his head, before realizing that a blind man might not know he was doing that. “Nope.”

“I know you shook your head,” Matt told him, smiling a little bit. “But thank you.”

Steve blushed. “How could you tell?”

“Enhanced senses. Almost make up for the blindness, but not really.” He shrugged. “It varies on what I tell people, but they really don't make up for not having vision. They're as useful as anything, but not the same. I couldn't be a vigilante without them, but if someone offered me the choice, I... I don't know what I'd do,” he admitted.

Steve considered that. He didn't think that he'd be able to return to his body before the serum. This new body was still somewhat foreign to him, but he didn't know if he could give it up. Not only because he was finally healthy, but because this new one was much more effective at fighting bullies. He wondered if Matt thought the same thing.

 

“You have the newest episode of Dog Cops?” Matt asked finally.

 

 

* * *

 

 

It turned out they did have it, because apparently Clint was an avid watcher. Steve made them a couple of grilled cheese sandwiches to eat while they watched it, or listened to it, in Matt's case.

“Are you sure it's okay like this?” Steve asked, for what was probably the third or fourth time. He'd offered to find some sort of described video, or get Jarvis to make one, but Matt politely refused.

“I think it's probably better this way. The show is ridiculous enough as it is.”

Watching the opening scene, Steve had to agree. The dogs were cops. Obviously the name hinted at that, but seriously? He spent the entire first episode trying to wrap his head around it, and by the time they moved on to the newest episode, Steve looked over at Matt to ask a question, only to find him fast asleep.

Steve quietly removed the plates and washed them up before returning to check on him. He was still asleep, slouched down on the couch, and Steve covered him with a nearby blanket before turning out the light, perhaps needlessly.

 

“Jarvis, can you let me know when anyone gets home? I want to make sure he doesn't get seen by them if he doesn't want to.”

“Of course,” Jarvis agreed.

It was late, even for Steve, and although he wanted to stay awake and read for a while, he fell asleep shortly after.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Sir,” Jarvis said, waking him from sleep. The lights in the room flashed, a feature that was meant for Clint but was helpful for all of them, who had learned to sleep through various loud and obnoxious noises.

“Yes?”

“Daredevil is awake and I believe he's looking for you.”

“Thanks Jarvis.”

 

Steve wasn't obvious about it, but it was clear that Matt heard him coming from quite a ways away. He tilted his head in the same way he did when he first met Steve.

“Hey. How are you feeling?”

“Headache,” Matt admitted. “But no nausea or dizziness, so I'm doing better than I expected. Shoulder's not bad either, for sleeping on the couch.”

“Sorry,” Steve said. “I'd have woken you up if I thought you were going to hurt yourself.”

“No, it's fine. Thanks for letting me stay.”

“It was no problem.”

“And for everything else too,” he added.

“Like I said, it was no problem,” Steve said firmly.

Matt smiled faintly. “You mean that.”

“Of course I do.”

“No, I mean, you're not lying,” Matt said, gesturing at Steve's chest.

He frowned. “How can you tell?”

“Heartbeat. Sorry,” he added. “It's kind of weird and invasive. Or so I've been told.”

“No, that's... cool.”

Matt smiled again. “I'm going to head out. Day job, you know.”

“Yeah, I suppose,” Steve smiled. The sun was starting to rise, and soon the day would begin in earnest.

“So I guess you're the first contact in my phone now?” he asked.

“Actually, I'm third. The Tower is first. I put it under Avengers. I guess that's what happened when you were trying to call Claire.”

“Probably for the best. She called me this morning. Apparently she was on shift and it was crazy in the ER. There was no way she could have gotten me last night.”

Steve shrugged. “Happy to help. And if there's ever a next time...”

“I'll call you,” Matt assured him. “Promise.”

“Good,” Steve said.

“Sirs, Mr Stark is two minutes away by air. I suggest Mr Murdock leave now if he wants to avoid being seen. I've taken the liberty of bringing the elevator up,” Jarvis instructed, and the nearby doors dinged open.

“Ah, I'd better get going then.” Matt pulled his mask back on, hiding the worst of the damage on his face. It was strange how he looked entirely different with his eyes covered. Perhaps that was why he wore the glasses.

“Thanks Cap. For everything.”

Steve nodded at him. “No problem.”

Daredevil saluted him as the elevator doors closed, and Steve chuckled.

 

He'd mark Daredevil's file as 'likely ally'.

 


End file.
